The Value of Gratitude

For me, Thanksgiving has always announced the arrival of the Christmas Season. It’s like crossing a bridge from autumn into Christmas, and Thanksgiving is the grateful troll that guards the passage. On one side of the bridge everything is in a state of fading shades of orange and brown, but on the other side the world sparkles and glows with a little more glitz every year. Of course not everyone lives by my holiday timeline, so many have already had their trees up long enough for the ornaments to need dusting.

Though even for those decorating well before my personal kick-off, Thanksgiving begins the anticipatory, month long celebration of the birth of the promised Messiah, with some massive feasts days to contemplate our gratitude. It’s an order of celebration I never pondered until recently, and have come to the conclusion maybe it’s not a coincidence. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the many blessings God has so graciously bestowed upon us and it’s only out of a perception of abundance and heartfelt gratitude that unconditional generosity is born, which is the fundamental message of the Christmas season. We learn to give as God so faithfully demonstrated through the merciful gift of his precious son, by continual practice in the art of gratitude. It is an investment that truly matters. Many blessings to you in this great season of Thanksgiving!